


The Great Pines of Neptune

by VMarsTrek



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M, For Sparta, Mutual Pining, No Beta, Secret dating, VMTAP2020, We Die Like Women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25488754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VMarsTrek/pseuds/VMarsTrek
Summary: Duncan Kane introduces Veronica Mars to his BFF Logan Echolls and the Fab Four are born. Stolen glances lead to upset the Kane siblings plans.
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 11
Kudos: 60





	The Great Pines of Neptune

The first time they see each other is a normal day: a bright sunny Saturday at the community park. Lilly is off flirting with Duncan’s teammates, and Duncan is eagerly showing Logan some moves down on the soccer pitch off to the side. Logan is feigning interest because he would rather be reading in that nice shady spot he has picked out where he can keep an eye on everybody. But Duncan IS his best friend and so Logan dutifully listens as he fills him in on this Mars chick who happens to be Lilly’s best friend.

Logan looks up when he hears cheering to see a small blonde being hoisted onto the shoulders of the other girls on her team. 

Duncan nudges Logan in the side. “Hey man, that’s her. That’s Veronica!” His voice sounds like an eager puppy and Logan stops short of rolling his eyes. Looking up, he sees that Lilly has even stopped her flirtations to cheer her bestie, jumping up and down he notes that she has gone without a bra, and not for the first time. She winks and blows him a kiss.

Lilly bounds down the bleachers to where they are standing just in time to welcome Veronica over. Despite the fact she is about to turn 12 Logan towers over her but it’s her crystal blue eyes that captivate him. 

Veronica catches him staring and a blush creeps up her neck and face, so she turns around as if to look for the object of his gaze. Logan takes the hint and looks down, kicking at some dirt. Duncan, oblivious to it all, yanks Logan towards Veronica, hard enough he knocks her over.

“Donut! You klutz! Ronniekins, you ok?” Lilly purrs are her bestie as she pulls her up from the ground.

“Yeah, yeah Lils, I’m fine. Hey, so I’m Veronica. Veronica Mars. You must be….” Veronica wipes her hand roughly on her soccer shorts, not a care in the world about the dirt.

Logan sighs. “Logan, eh, Echolls. I just moved into the area and will be starting school with Dunc in September.” He waits for it. Waits for the ‘Oh, like Echolls of the movie Echolls’ and all the grabby hands, and clinginess that goes with it to garner an invite back to his house. Just so he can get ditched while they fawn over his father. Like it’s a turn on or something. To an 11 year old. 

Veronica nods thoughtfully as she runs her hands through her pigtails, sitting crooked now after her game. Her stance makes no apologies for her appearance even though Lilly is trying to dust her off, or copping a feel. It honestly could go either way.

“Well, come on, Logan, eh, Echolls, come keep me company while Duncan plays and Lilly finds new boys to flirt with.” She moves over to the side, right into the spot Logan had been eyeing earlier. Little does he know, it’s HER favourite spot too.

They spend Duncan’s game laughing and talking about favorite books, classic movies like Dune, and arguing the merits of Star Trek versus Star Wars. Lilly at one point wanders over, calls them nerds and wanders away. They burst out laughing.

When Duncan runs over excitedly asking if Veronica saw his goal, Logan thinks it’s odd, since they didn’t win the game, but it’s Lilly’s best friend and Lilly can be merciless in making Duncan’s life miserable.

Veronica looks up and puts on a smile and assures him she did in fact see the goal (she didn’t) and he will most likely get MVP of the game (he doesn’t).

After tearing Lilly away from the group of girls she decided to hold court over, they wander out to the parking lot where Lilly and Duncan climb into the car waiting for them and Veronica sighs heavily before sitting on the curb, pulling out a textbook. Logan stops himself from getting into his mom’s car red convertible and turns back. 

“Veronica? Where’s your mom?” Logan looks at her with a deep V creasing his forehead.

She looks up and seeing the concern in his eyes her heart skips a beat and despite herself, she smiles.

“Oh, she’ll be along I’m sure….if not my….”

Logan’s mom leans over the passenger seat. 

“Hi! I’m Logan’s mom, Lynn. You can call from the car, but I will not leave Logan’s new friend to wait on the curb. Hope in...Veronica was it? What a beautiful name!”

“I don’t want to impose, I’m sure she is just running late.” Running late from the vodka bottle. 

Logan smiles and before she can stop him, he’s grabbed her bag and thrown it in the car, so she has no choice but to follow. He smirks at his play as she pushes past him into the car.

Veronica provides directions and they drive off. Despite the afternoon of ease between the two, the close quarters of Lynn’s car forces a weird intimacy: seeing a broken shoelace, a bandaid, a bottle of Advil and a small first aid kit. 

They each look out their respective windows as they are chauffeured to Veronica’s house. Lynn sings happily in the front seat, taping along with the song on the steering wheel. As pre-teens are wont to do, they turn back to each other, smile and roll their eyes, however, instead of returning to the windows they hold each other’s gaze a little long, and their smiles falter. Logan watches as Veronica blinks and licks her lips. He swallows hard in return. Ever so slowly their hands creep towards each other and just as the first touch happens, the car halts to a stop.

Hands return to laps and eyes are whipped to the windows.

“Here we are! Oh! We forgot to call your mom Veronica.” Lynn looks back. “I hope she’s not waiting for you.”

“Uhhh, no. Actually that’s her car right there. She must have forgotten.” Again. “Thank you so much for the drive home, Mrs. Echolls.” Veronica follows Logan out of the car’s back seat, avoiding his eyes. “Logan I’ll probably see you around the Kanes.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there next weekend.”

“Me too. See you around.”

Logan watches as Veronica practically runs into the house then climbs back in the car releasing a long breath unknowingly at the same time that Veronica is doing the same on the other side of the door.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
That night as Lilly calls Veronica, Logan is calling Duncan. All are eager to discuss the meeting of the besties. And apparently meeting of the crushes as well, as Lilly and Duncan go on to confirm that the crushes of which they spoke are their sibling’s best friends. 

Both Logan and Veronica, unbeknownst to the others, hang up that night, feeling like someone squeezed their heart a little too hard. Oh, they had put on a brave voice, acted excited for the revelation and begged off the call feigning hunger and fatigue. The reality was a little closer to heart break.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The four spend the next few weeks together: soccer games; lazy days by the pool; beach days watching Logan and Duncan surf while Lilly sun bathes and Veronica reads the latest book Logan loaned her so they could discuss during their marathon phone calls. No one talks about crushes and both Veronica and Logan try to push past theirs to embrace their new found friendship. It’s always the hardest, though, on those short, but long car rides when Lynn inevitably drives Veronica home from the community park and there is no buffer, just the two of them in the backseat. Stolen glances and pinky holding as to assure the other of their secret bond.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everything comes to a head one night in August after an impromptu pool party Lilly threw. Logan and Veronica can see Duncan and Lilly having a heated discussion inside the house, leaving the other two, Fab Four members, as they’ve taken to calling themselves, sitting by the pool in the twilight, listening to crickets, legs swooshing in the water, cooling off their sun kissed legs.

And just as Logan feels like he is about to burst Duncan comes stalking out of the house, fists curled at his side.

“Logan? Lils needs your help with something.” Duncan waves his hand absently towards the house as he slumps down in a chaise lounge in a sulk.

Logan glances at Veronica who shrugs, but she knows Lilly’s tricks and penchant for stirring things up when it’s been too quiet.

Once Logan is gone, Duncan slides down beside Veronica and tries to take her hand. She side eyes him and pretends to swat at a fly because it’s a tad forward and she can’t help but notice his growing affection towards her, and worries where her hand might land. 

Luckily, and oddly, Logan comes bursting out of the house, red faced, Lilly giving chase as far as the steps, with an equally red face and stomping her foot, before turning tail and heading back into the house.

Veronica shoves Duncan away and stands up as Logan whisks by. Before she can blink, he turns and grabs her hand, tugging her along behind their pool house leading to a small stone path. A hedge comes up and before she can protest, he twirls her into a small clearing with a large pergola in the middle. 

“Logan? Where are we?”

“It’s the other side of their hedge maze.” Logan slows as he pushes back the curtain of the pergola.

“Oh. Lils told me about it, but she just told me it was full of spiders and she wouldn’t show me. Spiders eat bugs, so I didn’t care..” Just then white lights click on triggered by the growing evening, effectively cutting Veronica’s nervous spiel off. She can see spider webs sparkling with light dew.

“What did Lilly want Logan?” Veronica asked, never taking her eyes off of the lights.

“She kissed me.” Logan mumbles.

“Oh….I should, um head back.” Dejection is clear in her voice.

“Vee? I didn’t kiss her back.”

“No?”

“How could I?”

“Hmmmm?”

Logan turns and takes her hand, turning her chin up towards him. Gathering all of his courage,praying he hasn’t read her signals wrong, he dips his head down and touches his lips to hers, eliciting a small gasp from her.

Backing away a step, he finds her lips chasing his, soft against his salt savaged ones. He picks her up and sets her on his lap as he sits on a cushioned seat. Time loses meaning as they lose themselves in each other, exploring lips and neck. Seeking air, they break apart, panting.

Veronica breaks the quiet first. “What do we tell them? I’m pretty sure this will break them.”

“Could we keep this to ourselves for a bit anyway? Lilly didn’t take the rejection well and Duncan seems to have your wedding planned.” Logan chuckles lightly into her hair.

“Smart boy. What do you say we blow this pop stand and grab some ice cream?”

“Sure thing. There’s a path behind that pine tree that comes out at the end of their driveway. WE can make our way from there.”

“Let’s go Logiebear, together.”

“Together, Sugarpuss.”


End file.
